US, Russia using crisis link to avoid clash
US President Donald Trump and his national security aides on Thursday discussed US options on Syria, where he has threatened missile strikes in response to a suspected poison gas attack, as a Russian envoy voiced fears of wider conflict between Washington and Moscow.
Worries about a confrontation between Russia and the West have been running high since Trump said on Wednesday that missiles "will be coming" in response to the attack in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7, and lambasted Moscow for standing by the Syrian government.
Trump tempered those remarks on Thursday, and even as he consulted allies such and Britain and France, who could join in any US-led strikes, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control.
